169 Fun Facts About Rap Music

Which founding father of hip hop pioneered the breakbeat on two turntables?

DJ Kool Herc saw that dancers saved their best moves for a record's short drum break, so he switched between two turntables to keep the break going, a routine he called the Merry-Go-Round.

Which album, N.W.A's debut, is credited with accelerating the rise of hardcore gangsta rap?

Straight Outta Compton was N.W.A's debut studio album; its most notorious track drew a warning letter from the FBI, which only raised the group's profile, and the album went platinum with little radio play.

Which rap subgenre of the 1980s put political activism at the centre of its lyrics?

Conscious hip hop took its cue from 'The Message', the 1982 single that traded party rhymes for a report on inner-city poverty; Public Enemy later built whole albums on the idea.

Which New York borough is regarded as the birthplace of hip hop?

The Bronx owes the title to one night: a party on 11 August 1973 in the recreation room of an apartment block at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, organised by the DJ's sister.

Which East Coast rapper debuted in 1994 with the acclaimed 'Illmatic'?

Nas released Illmatic on 19 April 1994, aged 20; the Queensbridge rapper's debut sold slowly at first but was quickly hailed as a lyrical landmark and went gold within two years.

Released by Sugar Hill Records in July 1982, 'The Message' was recorded by which group?

'The Message' is credited to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, though only Melle Mel and Sugar Hill writer Duke Bootee actually perform on it; the rest of the group were reluctant to record social commentary.

Which rock band re-recorded their 1975 hit 'Walk This Way' with Run-D.M.C. in 1986, reviving their own career?

Aerosmith were in a slump when Run-D.M.C.'s producer had the rappers cover the song; the video, in which the two bands break through the wall between them, put both acts on MTV and Aerosmith back on the charts.

Which single won DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance?

'Parents Just Don't Understand' won the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance in February 1989, but the duo led a rappers' boycott of the show because the new award would not be presented on television.

Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. became the first rap album to win which honour in 2018?

The Pulitzer Prize for Music had gone only to classical and jazz works since 1943; jurors weighing classical entries that borrowed from hip hop decided rap deserved a hearing itself, and nobody dissented.

Which 1979 Sugar Hill Records single is credited with carrying hip hop to a mass audience for the first time?

'Rapper's Delight' by the Sugarhill Gang, released in 1979, rode an interpolation of Chic's 'Good Times'; Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards threatened to sue and settled for songwriting credits.

Which former R&B singer co-founded Sugar Hill Records and produced its first rap hit?

Sylvia Robinson, once half of the duo Mickey & Sylvia, went looking for rappers after seeing a DJ rap to a Harlem club crowd in 1979, then put a trio together and produced its first single herself.

Run-DMC set a 1987 Christmas single in which Queens neighbourhood?

Hollis is where Run-DMC formed and was home to their DJ, Jam Master Jay, who started his own label and taught a young 50 Cent how to count bars and write choruses.

Run-DMC's 1986 ode to their sneakers led to rap's first major endorsement deal, with which brand?

Adidas signed Run-DMC after 'My Adidas' became a hit; the trio already wore the brand's shoes on stage, laces out, and the deal was the first between a rap act and a sportswear company.

Juice WRLD's 2018 hit 'Lucid Dreams' is built around a 1993 song by which English singer?

Sting's 'Shape of My Heart' supplies the melody, and the borrowing was costly: the hit's producer said Sting ended up owning 85 percent of the rights to 'Lucid Dreams'.

Tupac Shakur's parents were members of which organisation?

The Black Panther Party counted his mother Afeni as a member; jailed on bombing charges in the Panther 21 case, she was acquitted a month before Tupac was born in June 1971.

Which Tupac Shakur studio album is certified Diamond by the RIAA?

All Eyez on Me reached Diamond in 2014 on about five million copies: the RIAA counts each disc of a double album, so every sale of the 1996 two-disc set was tallied twice.

The Notorious B.I.G. released his 1994 debut Ready to Die on which record label?

Bad Boy Records, founded by Sean Combs in 1993 after Uptown fired him, released Ready to Die on 13 September 1994, a week before Craig Mack's Project: Funk da World.

What was the Notorious B.I.G.'s birth name?

Christopher Wallace rapped as Biggie Smalls, a gangster's name from the 1975 comedy Let's Do It Again, until a rival claim to the name forced the switch to The Notorious B.I.G.

Which Eminem album was the world's best-selling album of 2002?

The Eminem Show was rushed out early to beat bootleggers, so its first chart week counted a single day of official sales, and it still entered the Billboard 200 at number one.

What was the title of Eminem's 1996 debut album, released before he signed with Aftermath?

Infinite, which Eminem sold from the trunk of his car in Detroit, flopped; the Slim Shady EP that followed in 1997 reached Dr. Dre through Interscope's Jimmy Iovine and won him his Aftermath deal.

Jay-Z co-founded which record label to release his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt?

Roc-A-Fella Records was founded by Jay-Z, Damon Dash and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke after the major labels passed on him; Reasonable Doubt, released in June 1996, was the label's first album.

Jay-Z's first number-one album, in 1998, built its title hit on a song from which stage musical?

Annie's 'It's the Hard Knock Life' is the sample on 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)'; the album won a Grammy, but Jay-Z boycotted the ceremony, later saying it was because DMX got no nominations.

Under what stage name did Kendrick Lamar first release music while in high school?

As K.Dot, Kendrick Lamar made a first mixtape that won him a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment; he retired the alias before his 2009 EP because he felt it kept listeners from knowing who he really was.

Which Kendrick Lamar album became the longest-charting hip-hop studio album on the Billboard 200?

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City set its chart-longevity record without ever reaching number one: it entered the Billboard 200 at number two in 2012, behind Taylor Swift's Red, and never climbed higher.

Afrika Bambaataa's 1982 single 'Planet Rock' borrowed its melody from which German group?

Kraftwerk's 'Trans-Europe Express' gave 'Planet Rock' its melody and their 'Numbers' its beat; laid over a drum machine, the borrowed German synths set off a wave of electro-funk records.

Which institution inducted Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five as its first rap act in 2007?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had Jay-Z do the honours: he read his induction speech off a BlackBerry and credited the group with making every later rap star possible.

Wu-Tang Clan formed in 1992 in which part of New York?

Staten Island gave the Clan its base, but the name came from the cinema: its founders took it from the kung fu film Shaolin and Wu Tang, and built their lore on martial-arts movies.

Which Wu-Tang Clan member died in 2004?

Ol' Dirty Bastard, a cousin of the group's leader RZA, collapsed at the Clan's New York recording studio on 13 November 2004 and died that night, two days before his 36th birthday.

Before her solo career, Missy Elliott was a member of which 1990s R&B girl group?

Missy Elliott sang in Sista, a Virginia group that Jodeci's DeVante Swing signed to his Swing Mob stable in 1991; their only album went nowhere, but its co-producer Timbaland became her long-time collaborator.

Which rapper answered MC Shan's 'The Bridge' with the 1987 diss track 'The Bridge Is Over'?

KRS-One heard a boast in 'The Bridge' that MC Shan says he never intended, and answered it twice; the second reply, 'The Bridge Is Over', kept the feud between their two crews running for years.

Public Enemy wrote 'Fight the Power' for which Spike Lee film?

Do the Right Thing runs on the song: Spike Lee asked Public Enemy for an anthem, and in the film Radio Raheem blasts it from his boombox up and down a Brooklyn block.

What is DJ Kool Herc's real name?

Clive Campbell left Kingston, Jamaica, for New York as a boy and, as DJ Kool Herc, rebuilt the island's booming sound-system dances at his own neighbourhood parties.

Which West African figure is often cited as a forerunner of the modern rapper?

The griot kept a community's history in memory and performed it as spoken song over music, which is why writers on hip hop so often name the role among rap's ancestors.

Public Enemy was formed on Long Island by Chuck D and which hype man?

Flavor Flav met Chuck D at Adelphi University, where the two first worked together on Chuck's college radio show and only later began rapping as a pair.

Lauryn Hill played the student Rita Watson in which 1993 film?

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit put the teenage Lauryn Hill opposite Whoopi Goldberg, and she spent her acting pay on bankrolling her own group, renamed the Fugees that same year.

Which 1993 album, Snoop Dogg's debut, set a first-week sales record for a debut album?

Doggystyle sold over 800,000 copies in its first week while Snoop was facing a murder charge over a shooting by his bodyguard; a jury acquitted him in February 1996.

Who became the first solo female artist to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album, in 2019?

Cardi B won for Invasion of Privacy less than four years after she first appeared as a cast member on the reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York.

In which country was Nicki Minaj born?

Trinidad and Tobago was home until Nicki Minaj, born Onika Maraj, moved to Queens at about five; she invented characters, the first called Cookie, to escape a violent home.

Drake first found fame playing which character on the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Drake played Jimmy Brooks, a basketball star who uses a wheelchair after a school shooting, on Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2001; he released three independent mixtapes before signing with Lil Wayne's label in 2009.

Which Drake song became the first to pass a billion streams on Spotify?

'One Dance' is built on 'Do You Mind', a 2008 UK club track by the British singer Kyla; Drake's team first contacted her early in 2016, and the single was out that April with her name on it.

Outkast formed in 1992 in which city?

Atlanta's Outkast pushed Southern hip hop into the mainstream; 'The South got something to say', André told a booing New York awards crowd in 1995.

Which Outkast album won Album of the Year at the 2004 Grammys?

Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a pair of solo discs by Big Boi and André 3000, won Album of the Year at the 2004 Grammys; it went Diamond and produced the number-one singles 'Hey Ya!' and 'The Way You Move'.

Which single from Outkast's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik topped Billboard's rap chart in 1994?

'Player's Ball' started life on a Christmas record: it first appeared on a LaFace holiday compilation in 1993, then became Outkast's debut single and went to number one on Billboard's rap chart.

The Beastie Boys started out in 1981 as what kind of band?

The Beastie Boys began in 1981 as a hardcore punk band that grew out of the Young Aborigines, releasing the Polly Wog Stew EP in 1982; the 1983 single 'Cooky Puss' started their turn toward hip-hop.

Which Beastie Boys album was the first rap album to top the Billboard 200?

Licensed to Ill topped the Billboard 200 with a thrash-metal guitarist on board: Slayer's Kerry King, whose band shared the Beastie Boys' producer, played the solo on 'No Sleep till Brooklyn'.

Which Beastie Boy directed many of the group's videos under the alias Nathanial Hörnblowér?

MCA, born Adam Yauch, hid behind the alias as the group's video director, then went into film for real: he founded Oscilloscope Laboratories, an independent film company in New York.

What does the LL in LL Cool J stand for?

Ladies Love Cool James was the name James Todd Smith took at 16, when he was mailing home-made demo tapes, mixed on gear his grandfather bought him, to record labels around New York.

LL Cool J played Special Agent Sam Hanna on which CBS series from 2009 to 2023?

NCIS: Los Angeles ran for 14 seasons, and LL Cool J did not leave Sam Hanna behind: after the 2023 finale he carried the character into NCIS: Hawai'i as a guest star.

Which Salt-N-Pepa hit was originally released as a B-side to their single 'Tramp'?

'Push It' began as the B-side of Salt-N-Pepa's 1987 single 'Tramp'; a Cameron Paul remix turned it into a Billboard Hot 100 top-20 hit and earned the group a 1989 Grammy nomination.

Which R&B group joined Salt-N-Pepa on the 1993 hit 'Whatta Man'?

En Vogue sing the hook of 'Whatta Man', a remake of a 1968 soul single by Linda Lyndell, a white singer who quit music for 25 years after the Ku Klux Klan threatened her over the record.

Which Childish Gambino song became the first rap track to win Record of the Year at the Grammys?

'This Is America' won Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 2019, both firsts for a rap song, and Childish Gambino was not there to collect either: he skipped the ceremony.

Which Queen Latifah single from 1993's Black Reign, a rebuke to men who harass women, won her a Grammy?

'U.N.I.T.Y.' followed a setback: Queen Latifah's second album undersold and her label let her go, so she made Black Reign for Motown, and its lead single brought her a Grammy.

Queen Latifah earned an Oscar nomination for playing Matron 'Mama' Morton in which 2002 film musical?

Chicago brought Queen Latifah a Best Supporting Actress nomination as a corrupt jail matron, but the Oscar went to her own co-star, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

As a boy, MC Hammer worked for which Major League Baseball team?

Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley found the young Stanley Burrell dancing in the stadium parking lot and gave him a clubhouse job; years later, two A's outfielders helped fund his first record label.

Which 1990 album was the first hip-hop record to reach Diamond status?

Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em rode 'U Can't Touch This', built on the riff of Rick James's 'Super Freak'; James sued for a writing credit, got it, and won his only Grammy when the song took Best R&B Song.

Which single was the first hip-hop song to top the Billboard Hot 100?

'Ice Ice Baby' reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1990, the first hip-hop single to do so; it lifted the bassline of Queen and David Bowie's 'Under Pressure', credited only after a dispute.

In which 1991 sequel did Vanilla Ice appear performing a song he co-wrote?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II sends the Turtles' fight crashing into a nightclub where Vanilla Ice is on stage; he performs 'Ninja Rap' as they battle, and the crowd takes it all for part of the show.

What was the name of Ice Cube's first rap group, formed in 1986?

C.I.A., short for Cru' in Action!, first performed at parties thrown by Sir Jinx's cousin, a DJ named Dr. Dre; Dre produced the trio's only record before he and Ice Cube went on to N.W.A.

Ice Cube's 1990 solo debut, released after he quit N.W.A, was titled what?

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, released in May 1990, was produced largely by Public Enemy's Bomb Squad in New York after Ice Cube left N.W.A in late 1989 over a royalty dispute with manager Jerry Heller.

Which Dr. Dre single from The Chronic, a duet with Snoop Dogg, reached number two on the Hot 100?

'Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang' stalled at number two in March 1993, kept off the top by 'Informer', a reggae-rap hit by the Canadian newcomer Snow.

The cover of Dr. Dre's The Chronic pays homage to which product?

The Chronic's cover mimics the Zig-Zag rolling-papers packet, with Dre's portrait replacing the brand's bearded Zouave figure; the title is slang for potent cannabis, and the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.

Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G. and Turk formed which Southern hip-hop group in 1997?

The Hot Boys all appear on B.G.'s 1999 single 'Bling Bling', which carried the slang for flashy jewellery out of New Orleans rap and, within a few years, into the Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries.

Which Lil Wayne album moved over 1,000,000 copies in its first week in 2008?

Tha Carter III sold just over a million copies in its first week in June 2008, the first album to do so in three years; leaks had delayed it from its planned 2007 release.

Kanye West first earned recognition as a producer for what signature style?

Chipmunk soul speeds up old soul vocals until they squeak; Kanye West's own breakout single did it to a Chaka Khan ballad while he rapped with his jaw wired shut after a car crash.

What was the title of Kanye West's 2004 debut album?

The College Dropout is autobiography: Kanye West quit the university where his own mother chaired the English department so that he could make music full time.

Which Kanye West single, built on a Daft Punk sample, won a 2008 Grammy?

Stronger loops Daft Punk's 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger'; the French duo joined West on stage at that Grammy ceremony, their first live performance on television.

How many bullets struck 50 Cent in the May 2000 shooting that got him dropped by Columbia?

Nine bullets hit 50 Cent outside his grandmother's house in Queens; Columbia dropped him and shelved his debut album, so he rebuilt his name on mixtapes.

Which 2003 50 Cent album produced the number ones 'In da Club' and '21 Questions'?

Get Rich or Die Tryin' was released a week early to beat bootleggers and still opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 872,000 copies sold.

Nelly began his career as a member of which hip-hop group?

St. Lunatics formed in 1993, but it was Nelly who landed a solo deal with Universal; the group's own debut, Free City, came out only after his Country Grammar had made him a star.

Which singer joined Nelly on the 2002 number-one single 'Dilemma'?

Kelly Rowland sang the hook on 'Dilemma', which knocked Nelly's own 'Hot in Herre' off number one; in the video she tries to text him from a spreadsheet on her Nokia.

Ludacris founded which record label in the late 1990s to release his debut Incognegro?

Disturbing tha Peace began as Ludacris's own imprint for the independent Incognegro; word of mouth got him signed to Def Jam South, which repackaged it as Back for the First Time.

How was Migos rapper Quavo related to his late bandmate Takeoff?

Uncle: Quavo was only three years older than his nephew, and the pair grew up together in Lawrenceville, Georgia; Offset, long called their cousin, is not a blood relative.

Which Migos single featuring Lil Uzi Vert became the trio's first Hot 100 number one in 2017?

Bad and Boujee was already a meme when Donald Glover praised it on stage at the Golden Globes; the shout-out helped send it to number one later that month.

Which Travis Scott single featuring Drake was his first Billboard Hot 100 number one?

'Sicko Mode' is built in three distinct movements; it spent seventeen weeks in the top 10 before a Skrillex remix helped lift it to number one.

What was the title of Travis Scott's 2013 debut mixtape?

Owl Pharaoh was due as a free download in 2012 but slipped a year, reworked with Kanye West and Mike Dean and then held up again by sample clearances.

Which country singer joined the remix of Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road'?

Billy Ray Cyrus jumped on after Billboard pulled the song from its country chart for not fitting the genre; the song then held the Hot 100's top spot for a then-record 19 weeks.

Which rapper features on Lil Nas X's number-one single 'Industry Baby'?

Jack Harlow joins a video set in 'Montero State Prison': Lil Nas X teased it with a mock trial spoofing Nike's lawsuit over his 'Satan Shoes', and tied the release to a bail-reform fundraiser.

Which 2020 Megan Thee Stallion single got a Beyoncé remix that topped the Hot 100 and won two Grammys?

'Savage' took off as a TikTok dance challenge before Beyoncé joined the remix, which gave Megan her first number one and sent its proceeds to COVID-19 relief in their shared hometown.

J. Cole was born on a military base in which country?

Germany was only his birthplace: J. Cole grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in a house he later bought back with a plan to let single mothers live there rent-free.

Which collective did Tyler, the Creator co-found in the late 2000s, launching Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt?

Odd Future fans rallied behind the slogan 'Free Earl' after Earl Sweatshirt's mother sent him to a boarding school in Samoa just as the collective was taking off.

Which Tyler, the Creator album, his first US number one, won him his first Grammy in 2020?

Igor won in the rap field, which Tyler called a 'backhanded compliment': grateful as he was, he felt his genre-bending album had been filed under rap rather than pop.

A Tribe Called Quest's 1990 debut earned the first perfect five-mic rating from which magazine?

The Source began in 1988 as a free one-page newsletter that two Harvard students made to plug their college radio show; the five-mic scale it later adopted became rap's answer to the five-star review.

A Tribe Called Quest co-founded which collective in 1988?

Native Tongues, an Afrocentric collective formed around the Jungle Brothers in 1988, took in A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, whose members traded guest verses on albums like 3 Feet High and Rising.

De La Soul formed in which Long Island village while its members were still in high school?

Amityville, better known for The Amityville Horror, was home to Posdnuos, Trugoy and Maseo; producer Prince Paul took them on after hearing their demo of 'Plug Tunin''.

De La Soul won a 2006 Grammy for 'Feel Good Inc.', a collaboration with which act?

Gorillaz took the song's manic laugh from De La Soul's Maseo, who was simply cracking up in the studio; the single won Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, the trio's first Grammy.

Rakim was one half of a golden-age duo with which DJ?

Eric B. was first pointed toward another Long Island rapper, Freddie Foxxx, who was not home when he called; the promoter's next suggestion was a teenager named Rakim.

Slick Rick's 'La Di Da Di' was recorded with which beatboxing star's crew?

Doug E. Fresh beatboxed the whole backing while Slick Rick, then MC Ricky D, rhymed; tucked away as the B-side of 'The Show', it became one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop.

Which Slick Rick song supplied the beat for Montell Jordan's 'This Is How We Do It'?

Children's Story, which Slick Rick frames as a bedtime story for a couple of kids, had borrowed its own bassline from Bob James's jazz instrumental 'Nautilus'.

Def Jam was co-founded in a Weinstein Hall dorm room at which school?

New York University's Weinstein Hall housed the label because its co-founder was still a film student there; its first release was a single by his own band, Hose.

Which 1985 film dramatised the early days of Def Jam, starring Run-DMC and the Fat Boys?

Krush Groove cast Blair Underwood as a version of label boss Russell Simmons, and a 17-year-old LL Cool J turns up to audition with 'I Can't Live Without My Radio'.

Which rapper, his voice damaged in a 1989 car crash, went on to write lyrics for The Chronic?

The D.O.C. crashed his car months after his hit debut album, and the injury permanently changed his voice; he turned to writing and co-founded the label behind The Chronic.

Which former college football player co-founded the label that released The Chronic?

Suge Knight played defensive end at UNLV and two games as a strike replacement for the Rams; his label went bankrupt in 2006 and was auctioned for $18 million in 2009.

Bryan 'Baby' Williams, who co-founded Cash Money Records with his brother Slim, is better known by which stage name?

Birdman and Slim named the label after the Cash Money Brothers gang in the film New Jack City; a 1998 deal with Universal let them keep ownership of their master recordings.

Which label did Lil Wayne launch as his own imprint, later signing Nicki Minaj?

Young Money Entertainment stayed tied to Cash Money until 2018, when Lil Wayne, who had sued for $51 million he said he was owed, settled and took full ownership.

Which rapper founded No Limit Records, starting it as a record shop in Richmond, California?

Master P opened the shop with $10,000 from a malpractice settlement after his grandfather died, then moved the label home to New Orleans.

The Geto Boys were formed in 1986 in which city?

Houston's Geto Boys were the flagship act of Rap-A-Lot, the label James Prince co-founded in 1986, a year after being laid off from his job as a bank teller.

Three 6 Mafia won an Academy Award in 2006 for a song from which film?

Hustle & Flow star Terrence Howard declined to sing 'It's Hard out Here for a Pimp' at the Oscars, so Three 6 Mafia performed it themselves shortly before winning the award.

Three 6 Mafia hails from which city?

Memphis's Three 6 Mafia started out as Triple Six Mafia, a name from a Lord Infamous lyric, and changed it in 1995; eleven years later they were the first hip-hop group to win a songwriting Oscar.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was released in 1998 by Columbia and which imprint?

Ruffhouse Records, the label that had signed the Fugees, issued the album with Columbia; four collaborators later sued over writing credits, and the case was settled out of court in 2001.

Which Lauryn Hill single debuted at number one on the Hot 100?

Doo Wop (That Thing) came with a split-screen video: a 1967 Lauryn Hill in a zebra-striped dress sings at a block party beside her 1998 self.

The Fugees' name, short for 'refugees', nods to two members' roots in which Caribbean country?

Haiti is where Wyclef Jean was born and where Pras's family comes from; the trio started out as the Tranzlator Crew and took the new name before their 1994 debut album.

The Fugees' biggest hit was a 1996 cover of which song made famous by Roberta Flack?

Killing Me Softly, sung by Lauryn Hill, topped charts around the world but never appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, because it was not sold as a single in the United States.

Which Latino rap group from South Gate, California, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019?

Cypress Hill were banned from Saturday Night Live in 1993 after DJ Muggs lit a joint on air; at the 2019 star ceremony, Xzibit and George Lopez spoke in their honour.

Which two rappers made up Mobb Deep?

Prodigy and Havoc met as students at Manhattan's High School of Art and Design and first rapped as the Poetical Prophets; 'Shook Ones, Part II' later made Mobb Deep's name.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony formed in 1991 in which city?

Cleveland's Bone Thugs-n-Harmony scraped together one-way bus fares to Los Angeles to chase a deal, only to learn the label boss they wanted was on his way to their hometown for a show.

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's 'Tha Crossroads' was a tribute to which late rapper?

Eazy-E had signed the group to Ruthless before he died of AIDS in March 1995; they reworked 'Crossroad', first written for another late friend, in his memory, and it spent eight weeks at number one.

Coolio's 'Gangsta's Paradise' was recorded for the soundtrack of which 1995 film?

Dangerous Minds gave Coolio a worldwide number one; Stevie Wonder, whose 'Pastime Paradise' it reworks, did not want profanity paired with his music, so the lyrics stay clean.

Which Naughty by Nature hit is built on a sample of the Jackson 5's 'ABC'?

O.P.P. was the first hit for the East Orange, New Jersey, trio, who had gone nowhere as the New Style until Queen Latifah mentored them and they changed their name.

Which Kid Cudi song, first posted on MySpace, became an online hit and led to his first mixtape?

'Day 'n' Nite', produced by Dot da Genius and posted to MySpace in 2007, earned Kid Cudi a Fool's Gold single and the 2008 mixtape A Kid Named Cudi; Kanye West then signed him to GOOD Music.

Which Chance the Rapper mixtape became the first streaming-only release to win a Grammy?

Coloring Book could compete only because the Grammys had just changed their rules to admit streaming-only releases; it had already reached the Billboard 200's top 10 on streams alone.

Which producer co-founded Def Jam and later founded American Recordings?

Rick Rubin left Def Jam in 1988 to start Def American; when 'def' made it into the dictionary in 1993 he staged a funeral for the word, with Al Sharpton presiding, and renamed the label.

DMX's 1998 debut It's Dark and Hell Is Hot was released through Def Jam and which company?

Ruff Ryders was the Dean siblings' management company before it became DMX's label; after a false start at Columbia, his debut sold 251,000 copies in a week and entered at number one.

Busta Rhymes was named after Buster Rhymes, a 1980s professional in which sport?

American football: Buster Rhymes was a Minnesota Vikings wide receiver, and Chuck D gave his name to a teenager whose group opened for Public Enemy on tour.

Busta Rhymes first drew attention in which Long Island group, heard on A Tribe Called Quest's 'Scenario'?

Leaders of the New School fell apart on camera: during a Yo! MTV Raps appearance the group was seen arguing, with Charlie Brown upset at Busta Rhymes stealing the show.

Timbaland's stuttering beats broke through on which singer's 1996 album One in a Million?

Aaliyah already had a hit debut behind her, and Timbaland and Missy Elliott, then just starting out, recalled being nervous to work with her; he ended up producing most of the album.

Who was the original US host of MTV's hip-hop video show when it launched in 1988?

Fab 5 Freddy, the graffiti artist Debbie Harry name-checks in Blondie's 'Rapture', fronted Yo! MTV Raps from its US launch; Ed Lover and a co-host later took over on weekdays.

Which duo, famous for wearing their clothes backwards, topped the Hot 100 with 'Jump' in 1992?

Kris Kross were two schoolboys spotted at a shopping mall by producer Jermaine Dupri, then a teenager himself; 'Jump' went on to spend eight weeks at number one.

Afrika Bambaataa turned his street gang the Black Spades into which organization?

The Universal Zulu Nation took its name from the 1964 film Zulu, whose warriors' solidarity impressed the young Bambaataa; he steered gang members toward DJing, dance and graffiti.

Which Kurtis Blow single from 1980 was the first certified gold rap song?

'The Breaks' was only the second 12-inch single to go gold, after a Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer duet; Kurtis Blow's teenage DJ, billed as his 'son', became Run of Run-DMC.

Which Boogie Down Productions member was murdered in August 1987?

Scott La Rock was a social worker at the homeless shelter where he met the group's lead MC; he was shot in a Jeep after going to defuse a dispute for bandmate D-Nice.

Which 8 Mile song won Eminem the Oscar for Best Original Song?

Lose Yourself won while Eminem was asleep at home, sure he had no chance; he made up for missing the ceremony with a surprise performance at the Oscars in 2020.

In 8 Mile, Eminem's character Jimmy Smith Jr. battles under which stage name?

B-Rabbit wins the final battle by rapping every insult his rival could throw at him first, then exposing champion Papa Doc as a private-school kid named Clarence.

Which Doja Cat song became her first Billboard Hot 100 number one?

'Say So' went viral through a TikTok dance by Haley Sharpe, who was then invited into the music video; a remix with Nicki Minaj carried it to number one.

Which 2022 Ice Spice song went viral on TikTok and launched her career?

'Munch (Feelin' U)' was produced by RiotUSA, whom Ice Spice met while at college; its title, her slang for a doting admirer, caught on, and a major-label deal followed within weeks.

What was the title of Missy Elliott's 1997 debut solo album?

Supa Dupa Fly's first single, 'The Rain', is built on Ann Peebles's 'I Can't Stand the Rain'; its video put Missy Elliott in an inflated patent-leather suit, filmed through a fisheye lens.

Which Brooklyn rapper did The Notorious B.I.G. discover in 1994 and recruit for Junior M.A.F.I.A.?

Lil' Kim had spent much of her adolescence on the streets after being expelled from home; her verses on the group's gold-selling 1995 album Conspiracy launched her solo career.

Big Daddy Kane began his career in 1986 as a member of which collective?

The Juice Crew, headed by producer Marley Marl, took in Big Daddy Kane alongside his friend Biz Markie, for whom he had co-written some of his best-known lyrics.

Which masked rapper began his career as Zev Love X in the trio KMD?

MF Doom stepped away from music when his brother and bandmate DJ Subroc died in 1993; he resurfaced at open mics with his face hidden, then adopted a metal mask modelled on Marvel's Doctor Doom.

André 3000's 2023 debut solo album New Blue Sun is built around which instrument he plays?

Flute and other wind instruments replace his voice across eight instrumental pieces; the first is titled 'I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a "Rap" Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time'.

Which Eminem song about an obsessed fan gave English a slang word that later entered the Oxford English Dictionary?

Stan tells of a fan whose letters to his idol go unanswered until it is too late. Dido, whose song supplies the chorus, plays his pregnant girlfriend in the video.

Which rapper, co-founder of the metal band Body Count, was cast in 2000 as Fin Tutuola on Law & Order: SVU?

Ice-T was cast as a detective less than a decade after 'Cop Killer', his band's song about killing police officers, caused a national controversy.

Which sportswear brand signed Run-DMC to an endorsement deal after the trio praised its shoes in a 1986 song?

Adidas struck the deal after an executive watched a Madison Square Garden crowd hold its gear aloft on the trio's command. It was the first endorsement between a musical act and an athletic company.

Which Southern rap subgenre takes its name from slang for a house where drugs are sold?

Trap was a real place before it was a sound: the trap was where deals were made, and the music was made about it. Rapper T.I. put the word on the map with his 2003 album Trap Muzik.

Which Eminem song from the film 8 Mile was the first rap track to win the Oscar for Best Original Song?

Lose Yourself won while Eminem was asleep at home, sure he had no chance. He finally performed it at the Oscars 17 years later, as a surprise guest in 2020.

Which Seattle rapper took the self-released 'Thrift Shop' to number one in 2013 with producer Ryan Lewis?

Macklemore put the song out on his own label, Macklemore LLC, with no major record deal behind him. He tried to get fellow Seattle star Sir Mix-a-Lot into the video, but his calls went unreturned.

Which Cuban-American rapper from Miami is nicknamed 'Mr. 305' after the city's telephone area code?

Pitbull said he chose the name because the dogs 'bite to lock' and are 'too stupid to lose'. At the age of three he could already recite the Cuban poet José Martí in Spanish.

Hip hop's b-boys and b-girls, who made their Olympic debut at Paris 2024, compete in which element of the culture?

Breaking put b-boys and b-girls into one-on-one battles at Place de la Concorde in Paris. It had first appeared at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018.

Which Jay-Z single featuring Alicia Keys became his first Hot 100 number one as a lead artist?

Empire State of Mind stayed on top for five weeks and was the last number one of the 2000s. The New York Yankees played it at home games during their 2009 World Series run.

Which Kanye West chart-topper features Jamie Foxx echoing Ray Charles, the singer he had just played on screen?

Gold Digger loops Ray Charles's 'I Got a Woman', and West had Foxx re-sing the hook in case the sample could not be cleared. Both the sample and Foxx's version made the final record.

Which crunk pioneer produced Usher's 'Yeah!' and later shouted his way through DJ Snake's 'Turn Down for What'?

Lil Jon is so tied to crunk that his group's 1997 debut album was called Get Crunk, Who U Wit. He rejoined Usher at the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show to shout his part of 'Yeah!'.

Which Chicago rapper shared the Best Original Song Oscar with John Legend for 'Glory', from the film Selma?

Common and Legend performed the song at the ceremony on a stage built to look like Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge. It had already won them a Golden Globe that year.

Which rapper organised the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival in the Bahamas with businessman Billy McFarland?

Ja Rule and McFarland staged the festival to promote a music-booking app called Fyre. Their scouting trip took them to Norman's Cay, once the private hideaway of a Medellín Cartel kingpin.

Which young rap duo wore their clothes backwards and spent eight weeks at number one in 1992 with 'Jump'?

Kris Kross were spotted in an Atlanta shopping mall by a teenage Jermaine Dupri, who says the two boys were not even rappers when he met them.

Which pitch-correcting effect, pioneered on Cher's 'Believe', did T-Pain popularise with his robotic vocals?

Auto-Tune caught T-Pain's ear on a remix of a Jennifer Lopez song while he was hunting for a way to make his voice unique. He later lent his name to an iPhone app that let fans copy the sound.

Which Roland drum machine, a commercial flop in the early 1980s, gave Kanye West the title of a 2008 album?

TR-808 units sold poorly, and by the time Roland dropped the machine in 1983 used ones went for under $100. That cheapness won over underground producers, and its booming bass drum became a hip-hop cornerstone.

Which Wu-Tang Clan founder composed the score for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1?

RZA broke into film with Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, where he also slips on screen as a samurai in camouflage. Tarantino hired him four years later.

Which hip-hop magazine launched an annual 'Freshman Class' list of rising rappers in 2007?

XXL skipped the list in 2008, then made it a yearly ritual. In 2020 the first name picked, Pop Smoke, died before the photo shoot.

Which Public Enemy anthem did Spike Lee request as the musical theme for his 1989 film Do the Right Thing?

Fight the Power took its title from an Isley Brothers song and plays again and again through the film. Its third verse aims a famous insult at Elvis Presley and John Wayne.

Which 1995 Coolio hit from the film Dangerous Minds is built on a 1976 Stevie Wonder song?

Gangsta's Paradise is one of the few Coolio tracks with no profanity, because Stevie Wonder would not let his music be paired with swearing.

Which Tupac Shakur song about childhood poverty was the first solo rap track in the National Recording Registry?

Dear Mama is addressed to Afeni Shakur, and sets her crack addiction beside his love and respect for her. The Library of Congress chose it for the registry's 2009 class.

Which Outkast number one grew out of André 3000's relationship with the singer Erykah Badu?

Ms. Jackson is addressed to a partner's mother. It hit a sore spot with Badu at first, but she says her own mother loved it and bought herself a licence plate bearing the title.

Which 1992 rap chart-topper had a video briefly banned by MTV and was defended as a rebuke to skinny beauty ideals?

Baby Got Back spent five weeks at number one for Sir Mix-a-Lot, who said it was meant to empower curvy women tired of seeing skinny models held up as the ideal.

Which Missy Elliott hit puzzled listeners with a chorus line that is simply the previous line played backwards?

Work It only clicked on the final attempt, when Elliott suggested reversing a line of the hook. An elephant's trumpet hides a rude word in the same chorus.

Which Broadway musical supplied the children's chorus sampled on Jay-Z's 1998 hit 'Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)'?

Annie stayed with Jay-Z long after the sample: he went on to produce the 2014 film adaptation of the musical.

Which Ice Cube single runs from a Lakers win over the SuperSonics to a Los Angeles with no smog?

It Was a Good Day is so precise that a comedian used its clues in 2012 to argue the date was probably January 20, 1992. A blogger later made the case for a 1988 date instead.

Which rapper titled a 2017 hit after the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline?

Logic saw calls to the lifeline rise by 27% in the three weeks after the single came out. Its first verse is told from the viewpoint of a caller in crisis.

Which Kendrick Lamar song has a hopeful chorus that young marchers chanted at Black Lives Matter protests?

Alright has Pharrell Williams singing its hook over a beat he first built for a different rapper. It won two Grammys, for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.

Which Jay-Z track has a second verse about a 1994 traffic stop that a law professor later analysed line by line?

99 Problems became a teaching tool when Professor Caleb Mason used the verse to walk law students through search and seizure, noting which of the driver's moves are legally sound.

Which LL Cool J hit, aimed at his doubters, won a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance?

Mama Said Knock You Out grew from a talk with his grandmother, who told LL Cool J to knock out the critics and newer rappers dismissing him as gangsta rap rose.

Which Kanye West debut single did he record with his jaw clamped shut, two weeks after a near-fatal car crash?

Through the Wire takes its title from a twist on Chaka Khan's 'Through the Fire', the 1985 single it samples. West had fallen asleep at the wheel after a late studio session.

Which civil rights figure sued Outkast in 1999 because the duo had named a hit single after her?

Rosa Parks argued that the lyrics had nothing to do with her life. The case ran until 2005, when Outkast and their labels paid a settlement and agreed to back education programmes about her.

Which rapper won a Grammy for Ridin', a 2006 number one protesting the police profiling of Black drivers?

Chamillionaire saw the hit reborn within months as a 'Weird Al' Yankovic parody, 'White & Nerdy'. The original video casts actor Tommy Lister Jr. as an officer abusing his authority.

Which rap style is often traced back to the rapper Future's 2011 single 'Tony Montana'?

Mumble rap began as a put-down for rappers whose words were hard to make out. The earliest known use of the term came in a 2014 interview with a battle rapper.

Which Miami group's 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be was the first ever ruled legally obscene by a federal judge?

2 Live Crew saw the ruling overturned on appeal, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. spoke for the defence at the members' own trial, which ended in acquittal.

Which 1994 hit narrates Warren G being robbed by dice players until Nate Dogg arrives to rescue him?

Regulate retells a hold-up the pair said really happened, though to a friend of theirs. Its groove is a loop of Michael McDonald's 'I Keep Forgettin'', a favourite at Warren G's family parties.

Which Queensbridge rapper was only 14 when her answer record to a UTFO single launched a famous 1980s feud?

Roxanne Shanté posed as the woman from UTFO's song to hit back at the trio. Her rebuttal set off the Roxanne Wars, which produced perhaps the most answer records in history.

Which Lupe Fiasco debut single tells a love story between a pair of misfits?

Kick, Push follows two skateboarders, and earned Lupe Fiasco two Grammy nominations in 2007. Pro skater Terry Kennedy answered it with a diss track called 'Kick Push Pass'.

Which Queen Latifah single confronting street harassment and slurs against women won a Grammy in 1995?

U.N.I.T.Y. takes on domestic violence too, and many radio stations aired its harshest words uncensored because of the message. It remains her biggest hit single in the United States.

Which 1983 Melle Mel single began as an ironic party celebration before an anti-drug message was added?

White Lines gained its warning against cocaine as a commercial concession. Its bassline came from Liquid Liquid's 'Cavern', used without clearance, and years of lawsuits followed.